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Citing Sources: Citing websites, online videos, blog posts, tweets, emails and interviews

A guide to citing sources in MLA, APA, and Chicago format.

General Tips

Citing websites and online resources:

  • If there is no date, write n.d. If there is no author, begin with the Title of the web page and follow with the date.
  • If a URL must be divided between two lines, break it only after a slash. Do not add a hyphen.

    Examples

    GENERAL FORMAT FOR WEBSITES

    Author(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of web page. Retrieved from <insert web URL>

    ONLINE REPORTS

    Author(s). (Year). Title of work (Report No. xxx). Retrieved from Agency name

    website:  URL

    ONLINE VIDEO

    Producer name. (Producer), & Director name (Director). (Year). Title of video [Video]. 

    Retrieved from Website name: URL

    ONLINE MESSAGE BOARDS, BLOG POSTS, AND TWEETS

    Author name. (Date). Title of post [Format]. Retrieved from URL

    • Format may include Web log message, Online forum comment, Twitter post

    INTERVIEWS, EMAIL

    Personal communication such as interviews and emails should be cited in-text only rather than in the References list.  Use "personal communication" to identify the source rather than specifically using "interview or "email".

    (Interviewee First Initial. Last Name, personal communication, Month day, year)
     

     

    Examples

    Items in green indicate variations in the citation based on the format.

     

    Basic Web site

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2009, June 18). Cell phones. Retrieved from

    http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/ RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/

    HomeBusinessandEntertainment/ CellPhones/default.htm

     

    Web site with no author or date

    International adoption: Getting started with international adoption. (n.d.) Retrieved from

    http://international.adoption.com/

     

    Online Video

    PearsonFdtn (Producer). (2009, July 16). Teacher education and 21st century skills [Video].

    YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eGHAuV5yLo

     

    Blog entry

    Nielson, L. (2012, June 22). Bringing history to life by leaving classrooms & textbooks behind

    [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/

    2012/06/bringing-history-to-life-by-leaving.html

     

    Tweet

    Hopeful activist [@hopefulactivist]. (2015, June 21). Protest has turned violent towards the police. [Tweet].

    Retrieved from http://twitter.com/hopefulactivist/status/2651151366

     

    Interviews and emails (these should be cited in-text only and identified as personal communication- it is not necessary to include in the References list)

    (E. Royer, personal communication, January 4, 2019)